Azobis (alpha-cycloalkyl-acetonitriles)



Patented Dec. 27, 1949 2,492.7 63 AZOBIS (a-CYCLOALKYL -A( JETONITRILES) Paul Swithin Pinkney, Wilmington, Del., assignor to E. I. du Pont de Nernours & Company, Wilmington, Dcl., a corporation of Delaware No Drawing. Application October 30, 1946,

Serial No. 706,813

2 Claims.

This invention relates to new alicyclic azo compounds and their use as polymerization catalysts.

The new compounds or this invention are tetrasubstituted azodlacetonitriles having at least one alicyclic radical of 3 to 7 ring carbons directly cally unsaturated compounds.

manner described below.

tone and 390 parts of ethyl alcohol.

petroleum ether.

cyclopropylpropionitrile) crystals which melted 2 parts of hydrogen cyanide. The vessel was closed and heated at 100 C. for 4 hours, after which the vessel was cooled and the hydrogen cyanide removed under reduced pressure. The oil thus obtained was placed in a flask and '75 parts water,

5 attached to each alpha carbon. Another phase 20 parts ethyl alcohol and 59 parts concentrated of the invention is the use of these compounds hydrochloric acid added. The solution was cooled in the polymerization of polymerizable ethylenito 0-10 C. and chlorine passed in until an excess was present. The solid product which formed The compounds of this invention are convent) was removed by filtration and crystallized from lently prepared by reacting an alicyclic ketone petroleum ether at 56 C. There was obtained which has an alicyclic group adjacent to the carparts of alphaalpha-azobis(alpha-cyclohexylbonyl with hydrazine and hydrogen cyanide folpropionitrile) which melted at 88-95 C. and had lowed by mild oxidation suitably by halogen in the the following analy Foundi H, 9- N, 18.5. Calculated: C, 72.0; H, 9.3; N, 18.7. The following examples in which parts are by The compound was found effective in the p lweight are illustrative of the invention. merlzation of vinyl compounds. Example I Example In The following solutions which were cooled to A Pressure reactor was charged With 20 Parts less than 15 C. were introduced into a reaction of acrylonitrile- P t Of a yst. and 100 vessel in the order mentioned: 100 parts hydrazine Parts of cycmhexane- The in the fitm was hydrate in 500 parts water, 5 parts concentrated replaced with nitrogen and the reactor was closed hydrochloric acid (containing 146 parts HCl) and and heated in a water b th for 4 hours at 40 0. 200 parts sodium cyanide dissolved in 700 parts The Polyacrylonitrile fo med was dried and t To t above was dd a m 0 C weighed to determine the per cent conversion solution of 336 parts of methyl cycloprop l k into polymer. Tabulated below are the catalysts The t t and corresponding conversions. The table shows of th flask were t d for 16 ho t 20 c, the relative catalytic activity of various catalysts The oil which formed was separated and 195 parts at the temperature p d T e temperature or of alcohol added to the oil. This solution was polymerization 0 is lower an s usually cooled to 0-5 c. and 1500 parts water and about employed in acrylonitrile p lymeri ations. 1600 parts concentrated hydrochloric acid added. Table A total of 2'70 parts of bromine was then added dropwise with stirring at 0-5 0. The solid was removed by filtration and recrystallized from y t ggg There was obtained 200 parts (46% of theory) of alpha,a.lpha'-azobis(alpha- 1n the form of White i: i:zl it ziisiizti irsi s i iziil""-- 85 with decomposition at 40 alghakalgha Azobisfulgha-ine hylb tgyulfi u ileiif: g 50-55 C. and had the following analysis: Found, l ag'g ggl i gfifi g f g' w ff fi l l 0 c. 67.09 and 6 .75; H, .6 d 7.71; N, 25.95 and ii h;aIBM.$3.1iisitid'iihiiieffili."' 2, calwmee N. il fiilii52%;;tilllififififiliiiiilffffi: 3 Example If 12358;: 535333211. ..'.I 3 Ten parts of hydrazine hydrate and 50.5 parts of cyclohexyl methyl ketone were placed in a re- The unexpected Superiority of Speed of p 5- action vessel. After refluxing for 6 hours, the merization with alph .alp lph -cy vessel and contents were cooled. Upon cooling propylpropionitrile) is not restricted to the polya solid formed. This was removed by filtration merization of acrylonitrile. The use of this catand was crystallized from aqueous ethyl alcohol. alyst for the polymerization of acrylates, such This product, cyclohexyl methyl ketazine, melted as methyl methacrylate. and for styrene es at C. and was obtained in quantitative yield. outstanding results in quality of polymer and In a pressure-resistant vessel was placed 37.2 shortness of time. Addition polymerizations and parts or the cyclohexyl methyl ketazine and 54 55 copolymerizations of other polymerizable ethylenicaliy unsaturated compounds are catalyzed with unusual speed by the azo compounds of this invention. The polymerlzable compounds include not only compounds having but one ethylenic double bond, e. g., styrene, ethylene, tetrailuoroethylene, vinyl and vinylidene halides such as vinyl fluoride and vinylidene chloride, vinyl esters such as vinyl acetate, acrylyl compounds such as acrylonitrilem methyl acrylate, etc., but also compounds having two or more isolated ethyienic double bonds, e. g. the dimethacrylates of polyethylene glycols, diallyl diglycolate, diallyl carbonate, and diallyl phthalates. Polymerizable ethylenically unsaturated compounds having a CH1=C group are particularly useful. Temperatures of from 20 to 80 C. are usually used in these polymerizations, although higher temperatures may be used to advantage with the azo compounds having -7 ring carbons.

The azo compounds of this invention may be represented by the formula where R1 is an alicyclic radical containing 3-7 ring carbons and R2 is a lower hydrocarbon radical, i. e., of from one to seven carbon atoms, including aliphatic, alicyclic, and aromatic radicals. Usually R: is an alkyl radical of one to seven carbons (e. g. cnH2u+l where n is one to seven) such as methyl, ethyl, propyl, butyl, isoamyl, heptyl. The alicyclic radicals include cyclopropyl, cyclobutyl, cyclohexyl, cycloheptyl, methylcyclopentyl, etc. The alicyclic radicals have the general formula Cams-l where n is 3-7. Specific examples of such compounds are alpha,- alpha' azobis(alpha cyclopentylpropionitrile) and alpha,alpha' azobis alpha cycloheptylpropionitrile) In addition to the use of these azo compounds as addition polymerization catalysts, they may be used for the preparation of other compounds useful for synthetic work. For example, decomposition of the azo compounds under suitable conditions produces the dinitriie Furthermore, nitrile groups of the azo compound can be converted to carboxylic ester or amide groups by reaction with alcoholic KOH followed by treatment with an alcohol or ammonia. The latter azo compounds are also useful catalysts.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only and no unnecessary limitations are to be understood therefrom. The invention is not limited to the exact details shown and described for obvious modifications will occur to those skilled in the ar What is claimed is:

1. A symmetrical azodiacetonitrile having on each of the carbons alpha to the azo group an alicyclic ring of 3 to 7 ring carbons, the fourth valence of said alpha carbon being satisfied by an alkyl radical of not more than seven carbons.

2. Azobis(aipha-cyclopropylpropionitrile) PAUL SWITHIN PINKNEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,109,183 Roose Feb. 22, 1938 2,356,767 Kropa Aug. 29, 1944 OTHER REFERENCES Beilstein: 4th edition, vol. 4, 1st supplement, page 586.

Hartman: Recueil des Travaux Chim.. vol. (1927), pages -153. 

